Game apparatus



June 1%, 11936. c, KIRK ET AL 2,4-4,3 @9

GAME APPARATUS Filed Dec. 3, 1954 INVENTORS: Claude R.Kir1=z Edward E. Collison THEIR ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 16, 1936 GAME APPARATUS Claude R. Kirk and Edward E. Collison, Chicago,

Ill., assignors to Standard Ticket Games Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 3. 1934, Serial No. 755,680

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-121) This invention relates to a game apparatus. It is an object of this invention to provide an improved game apparatus which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction and etficient in use.

This application is concerned with certain improvements upon the device disclosed in our Pa ent No. 1,973,815, on a game apparatus, dated September 18, 1934.

' Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electromagnetic device for latching the ball elevating mechanism shown in our aforesaid patent ag'ai'nst'further operation after a predetermined number of balls have been elevated thereby from a, point below theplaying surface up to the level of the same.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved electromagnetic device for resetting the score registering and printing device of the game apparatus, shown in our aforementioned patent, back into initial or reset position upon the insertion of a proper coin into the coin aperture of the coin slide and operation of the latter.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

. 'The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a game apparatus embodying a preferred form of our invention;

Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view of the ball elevating-device, on line 2-2 in'Fig. 1;

v Fig. 3 ,is. a sectional view on line 3-3 in Fig. 2;' j Fig. '41is atop plan view of the ball elevating device, on line 44 in Fig. 2; i Fig. 5*is a fragmentary side elevational view of the ball elevating device, on line 5-5 in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a side elevational view showing part of the electro-magnetic device for resetting the score registering and printing mechanism back into reset position after operation of the same;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevational detail view showing certain parts of the resetting mechanism for the registering gears; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the electro-magnetic circuit embodied in the invention. 50 'A game apparatus embodying a preferred form of our present invention is shown in the drawing, is generally indicated therein at I0, and includes a cabinet I l within which is arranged an inclined playing board [2 upon which balls may be propelled in any suitable'manner, as, for example,

by means of the usual spring-urged plunger or propelling device (not shown) whereupon the played balls may gravitate over the inclined playing board and drop through any one of a predetermined number of ball exit openings formed 5 in the playing board l2; after which the played balls are returned to a magazine ll; the latter being arranged adjacent to the elevating device, which is generally indicated at l3, and by means of which the balls are elevated one at a time from a point below the playing board l2, that is, from the magazine I1, up to the level of the playing board l2.

The elevating device [3 comprises a rotary disk [4 which is mounted upon a horizontal shaft I5 for rotation therewith, and the disk l4 includes a plurality of radially arranged ball-receiving pockets l6 which are adapted to communicate one at a time with the open lower end of the ball return runway or magazine by means of which balls are fed into the pockets It for elevation up to the level of the playing board I2; the balls being dumped from the pockets I6 onto the playing surface by reason of the axial inclination of the pockets 16 toward the playing board [2, as shown in Fig. 2; the rotary elevator disc I being operated by means of an operating lever 24, which is pivotally mounted on the elevator housing 30, as at 25, and has a portion projecting exteriorly of the cabinet ll.

Formed upon the axially outer side of the elevator disc I4 is a ratchet 26 with which is associated an operating pawl 27; one end portion of this operating pawl 21 being pivotally mounted, as at 28, (Fig. 5) to a link 29 and the latter is in turn attached to the operating lever 24.

The pawl 21 has an angled end portion 3| which projects through an opening 32, which is formed in a wall of the elevator housing 30, into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 26 so that the rotary elevator disc l4 may be rotated (counterclockwise, Fig. 5) by depression of the hand lever 24, thereby pivoting the link 46 and pawl 44 from full to dotted line position (Fig. 5).

The present invention is, in one aspect thereof, concerned with the provision of an electro-magnetic device for preventing further operation of the rotary elevator disk I 4 after a pre-determined number of balls have been elevated thereby from the ball return runway or magazine I! up to the level of the playing board I 2, and to this end there is provided in the cabinet II, adjacent the elevating device I3, an electro-magnetic solenoid l8 which includes a movable arm or armature l9, and this armature I9 is slidably projectible into and out of engagement with a latch or stop member 20 which is pivotally mounted between its ends, as at 2!, upon the innerside of the rotary elevator disk l4, as shown in Fig. 3, the latch or stop member 29 being urged (clockwise, Fig. 3) by means of a spring 22 and being movable between two stop members or pins 32 and 33 which are carried by the disk I 4 and project laterally from the inner side thereof. The arm l9 of the solenoid I8 is urged, by a spring 52, Fig. 2 (from left to right, Fig. 2) into engagement with the latch member 20. V v

The foregoing arrangement is such that when a predetermined number of balls have been elevated by the disk l4 up onto the playing field I2, and the disk M has been rotated a predetermined circumferential distance, the latch member 26 is, positioned as in full lines, Fig. 3 and engages the stop member or armature 19 of the electromagnetic device or solenoid IB, thus preventing further operation of the rotary elevator disk I4, (clockwise, Fig. 3) until the arm I9 is Withdrawn from engagement with the latch or stop member 20. This is accomplished as follows: The solenoid I8 is arranged in an electromagnetic circuit 23 (Fig. 8) which includes a source of energy 31 and a relatively stationary contact 34; the latter being engageable with a movable contact 35, carried by the coin slide 36, to close the electromagnetic circuit 23. This arrangement is such that when a proper coin is inserted into the coin aperture of the coin slide 33 and the latter is pushed inwardly (right to left, Figs. 1 and 8) the movable contact 35 carried by the coin slide 36'engages the stationary contact 34, which is arranged in the cabinet ii, and thereby closes the electromagnetic circuit 23, whereupon the solenoid l8 Withdraws its arm l9, against the action of the spring 52, out of the path of movement of the latch member 23 (right to left, Fig. 2). This frees the latch member 26 from engagement with the electro-magnetically operated stop member or armature l9 whereupon the spring 22 pivots the latch member 26 (clockwise, from full to dotted line position, Fig. 3) past the armature or stop member 26, thus freeing the elevator disc l4 for further operation (clockwise, Fig. 3). However, as soon as the coin slide 36 is retracted and the circuit 23 is broken the armature l9 again returns to its effective position, Fig. 2.

The ticket or score printing device of our aforementioned patent includes a horizontal shaft 38 which may be arranged in a cabinet, such as H', and this shaft 33 carries a radially extending arm 39. In the present invention we provide this arm 39 with a lateral extension 40 and slidably extended through an opening formed in the extension 46 is an armature 4! of a solenoid 42. This solenoid 42 is mounted on a supporting wall 53 which is arranged in the cabinet 5 l and this solenoid 42 is included in an electromagnetic circuit 49 (Fig. 8) the circuit 49 including the source of energy 31 which is also common to the circuit 23, and being controlled by the operation of the coin slide 36 and associated contacts 34-35.

Pivotally mounted in the cabinet ll above the shaft 38 is a latch member generally indicated at 43, (Fig. '7) and this latch member 43v is formed as a part of a rectangular frame or carriage which includes side arms 44 and a horizontal bar 45; and mounted on the shaft 38 is an arm which has a cam portion' ll; the latch member 43 being urged by a spring (not shown) into latching engagement with the main timing gears 48' ofthe .36 engages the stationary contact 34, and thereby closes the electromagnetic circuit 49 (Fig. 8),

whereupon the solenoid 42 acts upon its armature 4| to move the latter (right to left, Fig. 6), therey rocking the shaft 38 (counterclockwise as seen .in Figs. 6 and 7).

During this motion of the rock shaft 38 the cam portion 41 of the latch releasing member 46 engages the horizontal bar portion 45 of thetiming gear latch member 43, and thereby pivots the timing gear latch member 43 (clockwise as seen in Fig. 7) thus disengaging the horizontal bar 56 of the latch member 43 from latching engagement with the main timing gears 46 of the score-recording or printing device, and thereby freeing the timing gears whichv are thereupon returned or re-set back into their initial position by an operating spring (not shown), which acts upon the horizontal shaft 5| and the timing gears 48 to rotate the same (counterclockwise,

Fig. 7) back into reset position wherein'they are stopped and held by the engagement of a laterally extending pin 54, which is carried by one of the timing gears 48, with a horizontal extension. or latching portion 55 of the member 46, as shown in dotted lines (Fig. '7).

The arrangement of the score printing and registering device in the present application differs somewhat from that shown in our aforesaid patent since in' the present case the registering v and recording devices are arranged inthe upper end of the cabinet. (left hand end, Fig.1), rather than in the lower end of the same (right hand end, Fig. 1) asin our aforesaid patent.

While'we have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying our invention into effect, this i'scapable ofvari'ation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. We, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the" precisedetails oficjon- I struction set forth, but desire touavail. ourselves f of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a

cabinet including a. memberproviding. a ball playing surface adapted to have ballspropelled thereover and the spent balls being adapted to 1 pass from the said playing surface to a point below the same; means. forelevating the spent ballsfrom a. point below said playing, surface up to the level of the same; means for latching predetermined number of balls havebeen elevated' thereby from a point below saidplaying surface up to the level of the same;' and. means, including an electromagnetic device for moving.

said latching meansoutof latching engagement said elevating means against operation after a playing surface adapted to.have,ba1ls propelled.

thereoverandthe spent" balls being adapt'edt'o 75 pass from the said playing surface to a point below the same; means for elevating the spent balls from a point below said playing surface up to the level of the same; means for latching said elevating means against operation after a predetermined number of balls have been elevated thereby from a point below said playing surface up to the level of the same; and means including an electromagnetic device for moving said latching means out of latching engagement with said elevating means so as to permit operation of the latter; said third and last-named means including an actuating member movably mounted in a wall of said cabinet and adapted when moved from its initial position to actuate said electromagnetic device and thereby move said latching means out of latching engagement with said elevating means.

3. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a cabinet including a member providing a ballplaying surface; means, including a disc rotatably mounted in said cabinet, for elevating balls from a point below said playing surface up to the level of the same; a latch member carried by said disc; an electromagnetic device in said cabinet including a movable latch element normally disposed in the path of said latch member and engageable by the latter after a predetermined number of balls have been elevated, by

said disc, up to the level of said playing surface; and means, including a member movably mounted in a wall of said cabinet, for closing circuit to said electromagnetic device so as to actuate the latter and thereby withdraw the said movable latch element thereof out of latching engagement with said latch member.

4. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a cabinet including a member providing a ballplaying surface; means, including a member movably mounted in said cabinet, for elevating balls from a point below said playing surface up to the level of the same; a latch member carried by said movably mounted member; an electromagnetic device in said cabinet including a movable latch element normally disposed in the path of said latch member and engageable by the latter after a predetermined number of balls have been elevated, by said second-named member, up to the level of said playing surface; and means, including a member movably mounted in a wall of said cabinet, for closing circuit to said electromagnetic device so as to actuate the latter and thereby withdraw the said movable latch element thereof out of engagement with said latch member.

CLAUDE R. KIRK. EDWARD E. COLLISON. 

